consumers review the 940

Was bought in 1998 as a salvage car. Been hit from the side, but was undamaged otherwise; Volvo repairman restored it and sold it at a great price. As it's gotten older there've been more repairs, mostly for things that have worn out. Air conditioning and tape deck no longer work and there are problems with the door-locking system. On the other hand, the int/ext still look great and it's a very solid car with 147K miles on it, and no sign of turbo problems. With regard to the turbo, we've been religious about running the engine for a bit after parking,& have serviced it regularly. Plan to keep it until it dies--repair is still less expensive than new.

there's not enough room here for a complete list of the problems - but here goes: all features made from sub-standard and too thin/weak (often German made ) plastic are now non-functional-including switches,control devices,safety devices,performance devices,electronics,door-panel fasteners broken everywhere,shifter,switches such as door windows, ignition,sensors on the engine,bushings on the transmission shifter etc. -- Did I mention the tail-light assemblies were coming apart with the very expensive 4-lamp pods coming unglued and the ABS plastic sub-assemblies cracking and falling apart where the studs fit into the assembly ? The brake rotors so rusted into place so badly that one broke just removing it (and this car has seen very little salt if any) VERY POOR HANDLING-DANGEROUS - no fun to drive-hard to park! Radio works but of the six speakers, only one works. plastic cracked everywhere! Seat-belt buckles broken, heated seats shrunk the leather-then quit. As for safety while driving ?? THIS IS HANDS-DOWN THE WORST HANDLING CAR I'VE EVER OWNED AND DRIVEN (and this includes the '57 Studebaker) The car is nearly impossible to park -- I think it has variable steering ! (and that from a guy who has never caused an accident in over 45 years of driving; and who got perfect scores on both the written and driving/parking tests when I got my license) What a stinking piece of Swedish [non-permissible content removed] ! I have been building and restoring British cars (and the occasional Mercedes) for over 45 years and I've never been inspired to blog or write in any way about the faults I've found -- until I bought the Volvo. Volvo owners, repair shops, and even the dealership I've talked to have all recounted horror stories about bad Volvo design and excessively high prices for both parts and service and etc. -- with many things impossible to repair, necessitating replacement of whole components at great expense -- the only American brand(s) that rival Volvo for high-cost and excessive breakdowns .. is Dodge. (actually any Chrysler product) -- Distributer adjustment/clamping bolts (there are three) nearly impossible to get a wrench on -- no way to see them, as the geniuses at Volvo put the distributer about one inch from the firewall !! (sure hope the motor doesn't shift on its mounts -- if a mount were to break (common in any automotive assembly over 15 years old, or where oil has been leaking -- like my Volvo) the $1,000 distributer assembly would be the first to get smashed! - just loosening the three adjustment nuts took about an hour of trying one wrench shape after another (not size, just the shape or bend needed ) AND -- before you think I'm just some clutz of a mechanic -- I studied both engineering and physics in college (before going on to organic chemistry) and worked in the field of chemical engineering for two major US companies and have an advanced degree. Here is just one example of bad-Volvo-design -- the automatic transmission shifter assembly: four bushings link the shifter AND the housing AND the assembly AND the transmission control rods in a "Rube Goldberg" like contraption that guarantees inaccurate shifts and difficulty in finding any one gear. The only thing that could be worse is if the illuminating light for the shifter didn't work, so you couldn't see what gear you were going into at night...like my Volvo...(did I mention that it took about ten hours of studying and attempting to install the bulb, in situ, before I realized that the standard bulb that is fitted everywhere else in the dash, the instruments, and the interior, at about 30 or 40 locations, was NOT THE CORRECT BULB !! and that the correct bulb was only used in this one place and had a glass envelop 1 or 2 hundredths of an inch narrower than the standard bulb and with the same base and same overall design ?? and that you could not see where it was going into the assembly ?? and that you had to use only one finger from each hand to carefully try to push upward into an unseen hole -- not even visible with the use of a small mirror ?? By the way, the dealership said to just replace the entire assembly (should only cost about $1,000 parts and labor) I finally found the correct bulb (2 for $3.99) by chance, as the dealership had no clue and no part number either ! So -- getting back to the sloppy Volvo shifter assembly -- on my car all four bushings were missing !! I guess the last time the transmission was rebuilt (twice in roughly 170,000 miles) the Volvo "expert" forgot to install the bushings .. or .. couldn't get them. I made all four rather than buying the over-priced and very hard to get bushings -- and when I was done with my car, did my neighbor's Volvo too (a 1990 700 series wagon) Both cars now shift the way they are supposed to. Oh, the adjustment for my Volvo slipped once (due to my rough shifting?) and necessitated getting under the car yet again to re-adjust and tighten, etc. THANK GOD, NOW IT DOESN'T START !

I purchased the car used knowing I was paying very little because It was in need of an engine but being a mechanic of Volvo's I saw potential in the car and now I have ONE of the coolest looking wagons that I have seen being so old. Took it to a Volvo show and took BEST in show took it to the dragstrip and it got noticed when it ran the 1/4 in 15.5 @ 89 mph not bad for a grocery getter. Although I do not feel the suspension and brakes are as good as my other Volvo 83 244 T but overal it is a good car.

I bought this car 5.5 years ago - I have been rear-ended at least 3 times with NO damage to the car - bumpers are indestructable. Body is wearing great. I'm trading up ONLY because it is rear wheel drive. If I lived in a sunny clime I'd keep it! It has more space with the seats down than a Jeep. All around great car.